Football

Pioneer Preseason Pass - D-Line

Aug 21, 2013

FAIRFIELD, CT (August 21, 2013) - The Pioneers are winding down their preseason camp and on Wednesday we wind down with our final look at the defense previewing the defensive linemen. Junior Troy Moore and former Pioneer and current coach Justin Embler give us a rundown of the SHU defensive front.

Part VII - Defensive Line

When the Sacred Heart defense takes the field next Saturday night at Marist, the Pioneers will feature an experienced rotation of defensive lineman led by Preseason All-Northeast Conference selection junior Troy Moore (Worcester, MA).

Moore returns to his defensive tackle spot and is the third leading tackler back this season. He finished 2012 with 57 total tackles, including 11.5 stops for a loss. Moore was second on the team with 6.5 sacks.

A pair of seniors with game experience will also factor into the rotation in nose guard Joe Tullino (Lacy Township, NJ) and defensive end Ray Hodgson (Coral Springs, FL). Tullino saw action in all 11 games last fall, notching 17 tackles in, three for a loss and a sack. Hodgson also played in every game in 2012 and had nine stops, two for losses.

Junior Connor Caveney (Fitchburg, MA) returns to the line-up in 2013 and is slated to start at defensive end. Caveney worked his way into the defensive line rotation as a freshman in 2011 but was forced to sit out last season. Sophomore Robert Johnson (Poughkeepsie, NY) saw action last season and picked up a sack from the nose.

On Thursday we will wrap up our look at the offense with a preview of the Pioneer wide receiver corps and the tight ends.